Losing streak reaches five in Zephyrs' 8-1 loss

Metairie -- Max Stassi hit a three-run home run in the first inning, and the Oklahoma City RedHawks never looked back en route to an 8-1 win over the New Orleans Zephyrs on Tuesday night.

The Zephyrs have lost five straight games and have been outscored 32-10 during the skid.

Brian Flynn, the reigning Pacific Coast League ERA champion, was unable to duplicate his success from Opening Night on Thursday, when he tossed six shutout innings against Colorado Springs. The RedHawks piled up eight runs and 10 hits in 4 1/3 innings against Flynn (0-1), dealing the left-hander his worst outing in 73 career starts.

Stassi followed his first-inning home run with a single in the third, part of three consecutive hits capped by a Japhet Amador RBI single to extend the RedHawks' lead to 4-0.

Oklahoma City strung together three more hits in a row to open the fourth, adding on two runs on a single by Gregorio Petit and a ground out by George Springer, and the RedHawks finally chased Flynn from the game an inning later by scoring two more runs on three hits, a walk and an error.

RedHawks starter Paul Clemens (1-0) limited the Zephyrs to three hits in five scoreless innings to earn the victory. Clemens struck out six without and did not issue a walk.

New Orleans pushed across its lone run in the sixth inning on a two-out RBI double by Mark Canha, but the Z's stranded two runners on base and are now batting .125 with runners in scoring position this season.

The Zephyrs and RedHawks will play the third game of the series on Wednesday at 11 a.m.